Tonight on Cobblestone Press, Kevin Aherne will be joined by first-term State Representative, Aaron Regunberg about his introduced legislation to raise Rhode Island’s subminimum wage for tipped workers for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The legislation would gradually raise the state’s tipped minimum wage from its current rate of $2.89 per hour until it is in line with Rhode Island’s regular minimum wage by the year 2020. While the base rate of hourly pay would increase, wait staff would still receive tips, as they do in the seven other states that do not have a separate subminimum wage. The bill was introduced with 42 co-sponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate. Rep. Michael J. Marcello (D-Dist. 41, Scituate, Cranston) has introduced legislation that will codify in state law the public corruption and while collar crime unit within the Department of the Attorney General.
The legislation, 2015-H 5468, was introduced at the request of Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin and is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on Judiciary this Wednesday, February 25. That hearing will be held in Room 205 of the State House and will begin at the Rise of the House (approximately 5 p.m.). Dee DeQuattro
The Providence Journal has an epic fail this week as it made what was clearly meant to be a filler article go live this week. An article entitled, “Mother cooks son, puts TV dinner to bed,” written by the all too clever, Al Zymers (a pun on Alzheimer’s) was live on the ProJo's website and spotted WBOB director, Kevin Aherne. The article was clearly meant as a sample, or template article for the digital team over at the Providence Journal as they built out the new website but then it went live this week. It’s not clear if anyone over at the journal is facing discipline for the article but it is truly ironic. The journal FORGOT to remove an article making fun of Alzheimer’s disease and instead it went live -- and stayed there for quite a while. Anthony Faccenda
Have you been feeling unhappy this winter? Well, if you live in Rhode Island, it’s not entirely surprising. According to the latest Well-Being Index statistics from Gallup-Healthways, Rhode Island is the 37th happiest state in the country. In addition to being in the 4th quintile overall, the Ocean State ranked last in New England. In fact, all other New England states ranked in the top 25. Nicholas Selser, 33, and Michael Fortes, 48, of Cranston, have been ordered detained in federal custody on charges that they allegedly manufactured methamphetamine inside their apartment at the Devan Manor housing complex in Cranston, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Cranston Police Chief Colonel Michael J. Winquist and Michael Ferguson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Field Division.
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